The Sprout

Cllrs

Potter and Berrett, chair and vice chair of NHPC

The Newsletter for North Hinksey & Botley

Issue 165 March 2022

The Sprout

The Newsletter for North Hinksey & Botley

Directors: Janet Bartlam, Judi Bolder, John Clements,

Michael Cockman, Ag MacKeith, Robin Palmer

Editor

Ag MacKeith

South View House, Old Botley, OX2 0JR Tel: 724452 Editor@TheSprout.org.uk

Advertising Manager

Michael Cockman

50, St Paul's Crescent OX2 9AG Te l : 07766 317691 Adverts@TheSprout.org.uk

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delivered to your door. Contact: Carol Kramer 01865 243002.

Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of information printed in this

newsletter, mistakes may happen. The Editor and Team apologize unreservedly for

any errors that may occur and will do their best to correct them. This publication is not

a vehicle of the parish council, and parish councillors working with the Sprout do so in

a personal capacity. Opinions expressed are the opinions of the individual

contributors.

All concerned in the production and delivery of The Sprout are unpaid volunteers.

The Sprout is printed by Dataprint Ltd, and published by North

Hinksey Parish Publications Ltd, (a company limited by

guarantee) Registration No. 05609535.

It can also be found online at BotleyHinksey.org.uk

The Sprout

Issue 165, March 2022

Contents

3 Letters to the Editor

5 Botley in Bloom/ Library news

7 Better Flood Scheme Needed

11 The Joys of Being a Brownie

13 Botley Patients Group

15 Botley WI Goes to Blenheim

17 Stay Warm – Save Energy

19 Dawn Rivers/ KMC

21 Culture Corner

22 Solar Farm Visit

25 Botley Bridges

27 Beautifying the Flyover

31 Not looking for Bear Grylls

33 Botley School Governors

37 Randoms /Planning Apps

39 Local Organizations

From the Editor

What’s been happening this month? Well, there’s plenty going on, as

usual. There’s a beady-eyed review of the Flood Alleviation Scheme (p7),

coming up for consultation again soon, and two views of the fact-finding

visit to Westmill Solar Farm (p22). The Patients Participation Group is

studying the Quality Control Commission’s long-awaited findings on the

local medical practice (p13). On 19th March we can look forward to the

chance to engage with the plans to beautify the A34 flyover, and the artist

shares some thoughts on page 27. Botley in Bloom is back for 2022,

sponsored by the Sprout, see page 5 for ideas. The Brownies are doing

their thing with sock puppets (p 11), while other organizations are looking

for governors (Botley School, p33) and scout leaders (Oxford XV, p31). If

you are wondering about those happy faces on the cover, we thought we

could give a nod to International Women’s Day on 8th March with a

picture of Caroline Potter and Lorna Berrett, the two good women who

head up the parish council. It’s the Annual Parish Meeting on 18th March,

your chance to share ideas for how things could develop locally, but

before then, on Saturday 12th, there is a session at the Seacourt Hall that

will offer help on cutting energy bills – Stay Warm – Save Energy (p17 ).

See you there!

Ag MacKeith

Letters to the Editor

Wrecking the Green

Considerable damage has been done to the southern edge of the North

Hinksey Village Green by people parking there, either from AirBnB's or

the Fishes or the Rugby Club, etc. Sections of it are little more than mud

with tyremarks. Logs have now been placed along its whole length at

spaces shorter than a car's length to dissuade people from spoiling

what should not only be an asset for people to play on but also a con-

tributor to the visual attractiveness of the village. I hope we might be

able to retain them in place. I note that a couple of earlier placements of

logs were removed,

Chris Sugden (Canon Dr)

Missing Streams

I understand that one of the streams diverted at the outbreak of War

formerly flowed from the junction of Lime Rd and Yarnells Hill down to

Raleigh Park. I was told this by an old-timer walking his dog, but unfor-

tunately I haven't seen him or his dog (or wife) for several years.

David Brown

I was always told that there were several springs in the fields that are

now the Tilbury Fields estate. They run into a stream that runs down the

side of Tilbury Lane. There is another running along the south side of

the Tilbury Allotments.

A friend whose parents lived in Seacourt Road said that the Tilbury

Lane stream ran alongside Seacourt Road and came out into West Way

near to the pub. When the area was developed and Seacourt Road and

the bungalows were built up, the stream was culverted and put under-

ground. It may now be one source of the stream that goes via North

Hinksey Lane into the Seacourt Stream.

If you look at old maps e.g. the 1948 OS 1:25000 map

https://maps.nls.uk/view/196187625 you can see some of these old

streams and springs. Maybe one for those with better access to these

old maps to investigate.

Dave Ralphs

[Thanks very much for these further contributions to the investigation.]

Botley In Bloom

Front Garden Competition 2022

The Botley in Bloom competition will be back this

summer with your friendly neighbourhood judges hoping

to enjoy the results of your efforts during week beginning

Monday 13 June. Plenty of time to start planning!

Please note that even if Covid restrictions are completely

relaxed we will be judging front gardens only.

I thought it might be helpful to let potential competitors know now the

criteria judges will be looking for, as well as the categories in which you

can enter.

First, the categories. This year we will have two categories:

• Best Front Garden

• Best Cultivated-Wildlife Front Garden

In the past we have had a third category of Best Use of Vegetables, but

we’ve decided to drop it this year. Obviously don’t let this stop you

integrating veggies into your front gardens as you wish, it just won’t be a

category on its own.

Secondly, the judging is done by marks on a score sheet and for

guidance I itemise below the judging criteria:

In the Best Front Garden category there will points awarded for:

• Colour and planting

• Design sympathetic to the house and surroundings

• Environment & wildlife provision

• Creativity and invention

• Good overall design

In the other category, Best Cultivated-Wildlife Front Garden, the judges

will be looking for:

• Planting to attract wildlife

• Wildlife corridors

• Bird/insect/hedgehog box(es)

• Native plants/hedges

• Good overall design

As we know, greening our gardens greatly benefits the environment but

most of us, especially on Elms Rise Estate, also need to park our cars

on our front driveways. Our judging has always taken this into

consideration when we are looking at the overall design and we

welcome sympathetic planting alongside. I should re-iterate that

impermeable surfaces creating water run-off are not the way forward,

although gravel and types of paving where water can escape through

the cracks usually works well.

I hope the above explanation of judging criteria is helpful. Look out for

entry details to Botley in Bloom 2022 in future editions of The Sprout

and posters around the Parish. There’s a Facebook page too, which

we’ll get round to updating before long. In the meantime I hope you

enjoy planning your summer front garden.

Viv Smith

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Botley Library

Hello. My name is Elizabeth Ward and I am the

Manager of Botley Library. Although I have been

in this role for a couple of years, I have recently

returned from a secondment, so I am using this

opportunity to re-introduce myself and make

people aware of some of the services that you can

find in your local Library.

We have a beautiful, modern space where you

can read, study, use our computers, borrow, print

and photocopy. Applications for bus passes can

be made with our staff (an appointment is necessary for this – please

ring and book) and we hold Bookstart resources for under-two s and

toddlers (if these haven’t been collected from your Health Visitor or pre-

school). We are hoping to restart events like Rhymetime, Storytime,

Author talks and Craft workshops very soon, and details of these will be

advertised on the ‘A’ frame board that is outside the building and also on

our new Facebook page which is coming shortly. Please look out for it

and ‘like’ it when it goes live.

Here are our contact details and opening hours:

Elizabeth.ward@oxfordshire.gov.uk Botley.library@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Opening hours: 9.30 to 5.30 (7pm on Fridays, 1pm on Saturdays).

Closed Wednesdays and Sundays. Te l : 07922 849680.

Best wishes and hope to see you soon!

Liz and the Team (Lyn, Monica, Kathryn, Jude, David and Thomas)

Oxford Needs A Better Flood Scheme

The Environment Agency will soon be putting in a planning application

for a £154 million Oxford Flood Alleviation Scheme (OFAS). This would

involve digging a 5km ‘sculpted channel’ from north of Botley Road this

side of the Park and Ride to north of Kennington, plus other measures

such as bunds at South Hinksey. When the planning application is in,

we will all have the opportunity to comment on it. We believe that

Oxford badly needs flood protection, but the OFAS is an

environmentally destructive, over-costly way of doing this. The

Environment Agency has

refused to consider

cheaper and less harmful

alternatives.

Environmental harm: The

OFAS will lead to the

destruction of thousands of

mature trees, and two

hectares of beautiful and

rare MG4 meadow

(Hinksey Meadow), as well

as threatening the

remaining meadow.

Nobody has yet

successfully transplanted

MG4 meadow. Digging up

400,000 cubic metres of

soil from Oxford’s millennia-old floodplain and felling the trees will

release huge quantities of carbon.

During the project’s 3-4 year construction period, access to the site will

be severely restricted. Removing the soil will mean tens of thousands

of additional HGVs on the A34. The HGVs will accelerate slowly, further

increasing congestion on the ring road. There will be disturbance and

other impacts at South Hinksey from lorries going in and out.

Lack of long-term management: After construction, the presence of

the channel plus new fencing will affect grazing and limit recreational

use of the area. The OFAS plan includes only 10 years of maintenance

(it is unclear what ‘maintenance’ would look like). There is no budget for

maintenance after the first 10 years: land owners are expected to do

this. Without maintenance, vegetation build-up could inhibit the flow of

water, reducing flow capacity and limiting the scheme’s ability to protect

properties from flooding.

Too costly: Digging the channel is the most costly part of the scheme,

but the least effective. 85% of the OFAS benefits in terms of reducing

flood damages would come from continuing existing flood alleviation,

notably the conduits under Willow Walk. Most or all of the rest of the

benefits come from bunds around South Hinksey, defences at Osney

Island etc. – NOT from the destructive channel. The marginal benefit-

cost ratio of the channel is at best 1.66:1. This does not include the

costs of reduced recreation, tranquillity, biodiversity, carbon fixing and

long-term maintenance, which further increase the scheme’s costs.

Reasonable alternatives not considered: Legally the Environment

Agency must consider ‘reasonable alternatives’, but it has not

considered any alternative to this channel / floodplain lowering since

2009. Reasonable alternatives that could provide as much or more

protection from flooding at lower financial, environmental and social

costs include:

• Underground pipes broadly along the OFAS route, with pumps

that switch in automatically before flood events become damaging;

• Putting in components of the OFAS (bridges at Willow Walk,

bunds at South Hinksey, rail bridging at Old Abingdon Road etc.) but no

channel to start with, monitoring effectiveness, and adding a channel or

pipes if necessary.

We encourage people to ask about these points when the Environment

Agency puts in a planning application for the OFAS – at which point we

are invited to have our say. Further information is available at

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/oxford-floodscheme/oxford-

flood-scheme, www.oxfordfloodandenvironmentgroup.com and

www.hinkseyandosney.org Riki Therivel and Tim O’Hara

The Joys of Being a Brownie

Hello! We hope you like the sock puppets

that were created at 2nd Botley Brownies

early in 2022 as part of a badge. If you

look carefully you can see that they are all

made from recycled stuff found around the

house plus a pair of new googly eyes. We

think you will agree that all the girls have

fabulous imaginations and did a great job

of translating them into various creatures

like cats and rabbits. We have been work-

ing on a lot of badges as a unit, although,

unfortunately, some of the science experi-

ments Girlguiding suggested were not as successful as the sock pup-

pets – it just goes to show that not everything works perfectly first time.

We are very pleased to report that the recruitment of new girls to our

unit of 2nd Botley is going very well and we will definitely be around to

celebrate our unit’s 50th birthday! The current girls are noticeably po-

lite, cheerful and quick to catch on, which allows us to cover a lot of ac-

tivities in the time allowed. When playing games – new or old – they

are good sports too. We have been made aware of the benefits of re-

turning to normal social activities as you can see from these comments

from our parents: “She’s

really enjoying Brownies.” –

“Brownies has been such a

good thing for her. Her

mental health has really im-

proved.” – “My daughter has

such a good time each week

with new friends.” – “Her

confidence is growing.” –

“She’s really keen each

week.”

Lucy Howes

Care Quality Commission Report Published

In April 2021 the Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspected the Botley

Medical Centre (BMC) and placed it under special measures. In De-

cember the CQC inspected the BMC again. They noted improvements

and have now taken the practice out of special measures.

Their report can be accessed here https://www.cqc.org.uk/location/1-

544081039/reports

They found

• Significant improvement to monitoring patient safety, specifically the

prescribing of high-risk medicines;

• Improved effectiveness of patient care and treatment, although the

required standards had not yet been met in updating care plans for

patients with mental health conditions and ensuring advanced clini-

cal decisions are reviewed annually;

• Staff dealt with patients with kindness and respect, and involved

them in decisions about their care;

• The practice adjusted how it delivered services to meet the needs of

patients during the COVID-19 pandemic;

• Patient access to communication channels and care required im-

provement, and patients sometimes found barriers to accessing

services when required;

• Improved monitoring processes for dealing with daily tasks such as

patient correspondence, and adjustments to reduce backlogs when

workflow increased had been made;

• There was limited independent quality improvement on the part of

the practice. Leaders did not have effective audit and monitoring

processes to ensure they identified areas for improvement;

• Significant improvement in culture reported by staff.

They found one breach of regulation. The provider must:

• Ensure adequate governance and monitoring processes are in

operation to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety

of the services provided.

The CQC are asking the Practice to produce a report on the actions it

will be taking in the light of the report.

As the report was published, the post of Practice Manager became

vacant. The practice is in the process of shortlisting and plans to in-

terview candidates for the post.

The PPG discussed the report at its meeting on 8th February. Among

issues and questions they raised were:

• Long--term follow up of those with ongoing medical conditions;

• The worry people experience about securing an appointment

only ‘on the day’;

• Why routine appointments cannot be booked in advance;

• How the outreach to pharmacists and the new prescription clerk

have assisted in securing prescriptions;

• What the BMC plans to do in the areas where improvement is

needed.

The BMC has invited the members of the Patients Participation Group

to meet Julie Dandridge the Head of Primary Care for the Oxford Clini-

cal Commissioning Group, Dr Aintzane Ballastero, Esti Ballastero and

Eleanor Baylis (of PML, who are assisting the BMC) at Kennington

Health Centre at 4pm on Thursday 3rd March, to discuss the report and

set out ways to work together for the continued improvement of the

Practice. If you wish to join the PPG please contact our secretary Chris

Sugden on csugden@ocrpl.org or 07808 297043.

Chris Sugden

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Botley W.I. goes to Blenheim

The ladies of Botley WI have been out and about again. On Tuesday

25th January we set out for Blenheim in a very cold wind. It was, to say

the least, ‘bracing!’ The photo shows us cold, but ‘braced’!!

The lakes looked cold and uninvit-

ing so no one suggested a swim!

The trees were bare, but there

was life below them: everywhere

we looked there were birds of all

types foraging in the dead leaves.

Our walk ended at the excellent

restaurant. We sat and talked for

a while and then we returned to

Oxford on the bus, and went our

separate ways.

Jenny Holloway

Stay Warm, Save Energy

Free event at Seacourt Hall, Botley,

Saturday 12 March, 2-5pm

From April this year, most households will

be paying at least 54% more for their

energy. For the average UK household,

annual costs will jump from £1200 to nearly £2000. And a further hike is

expected in October. Energy company E.ON was slated for sending

customers warm socks but, seriously, many homes will be colder next

winter. So what can we do about it?

All residents of Botley and surrounding areas are hugely welcome to our

event, Stay Warm, Save Energy at Seacourt Hall on 12th March. This is

an initiative of the new Sustainable Botley group, which now has a

website: https://sustainablebotley.uk/. We’re grateful to North Hinksey

Parish Council for their support in paying for the venue hire.

We’ll have a short panel session at 2.15 with a variety of speakers to set

the scene and stimulate discussion, followed by workshops and stalls.

There will be loads of opportunities to chat with energy and eco-

renovation experts and to local people who have made home energy

improvements.

We’ll be talking especially about

• Staying warm and saving energy on a tight budget

• Bringing your house up to standard –

and the grants and loans available

• Future-proofing your home, including eco-renovation

• Making connections in our local community so we can support

each other and find ways of taking action together.

There will also be tea and cakes!

We’re still identifying experience and expertise in the local community. It

would be great to hear about anyone who has made home

improvements to save energy or cut carbon; we’d also really like to hear

from installers of insulation, heat pumps, double or triple glazing etc.

who might be interested in having a table at the event.

You can just turn up on the day, but it would help us a lot if you could

book online via https://sustainablebotley.uk/ to give a sense of numbers.

If you’d like to get in touch about the event, please contact me at

laurie@ liv ingwitn e s s .o rg .u k . Laurie Michaelis

Dawn Rivers 1938 – 2022

Sadly Mum died on 9th February, having

had a stroke in December.

Dawn was born in Cowley and moved to

Arthray Road in 1962 with her husband

Michael. They bought a house opposite

Dad's parents. Myself and my sisters

Anita and Julie lived there and attended

Botley School.

Mum helped organize the street party for

the Silver Jubilee. She could often be

seen pushing her bike up and down the

road to go shopping, meet friends for a

drink, or catching a bus in to Oxford.

The Rivers family have lived in Arthray Road for over 80 years.

Gary Rivers

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Kennington Memory Club

At the time of writing this snowdrops and crocuses are flowering,

daffodils are beginning to show yellow, birds are singing their hearts out

and Spring has definitely sprung! This is always a season of new life

and hope for most. Those who are living with dementia definitely enjoy

these signs of Spring, but their expectations may be more limited than

for most people. Quality of life is one of the most important aspects of

their lives and this is where Kennington Memory Club steps in.

The day care sessions run by the Club provide company, different

surroundings, activities, music, friendship and laughter, all much

enjoyed by the members, and giving their carers much-needed respite

from their duties. If you or someone you know would benefit from

attending the Club and want to find out more please telephone 07852

883496 or email info@kenn in g to n memo r y c lu b .o rg.uk .

If you would like to join our band of volunteers, essential for the smooth

running of the sessions, please use the same contact details. Most

volunteers help out for a half day about once a fortnight. Our website :

kenningtonmemoryclub.org.uk

Isobel Birse

Culture Corner

Thanks For All The Fish is an exhibition of photographs by Uwe

Ackermann at St. Peter and St.Paul Church runs from 07 March–29

April . It documents the conversion, over the years 2017 to 2019, of

West Way precinct from a collection of independent shops into a mono-

lithic shopping centre that has priced the small traders out of the area.

Botley community united to resist the development and achieved con-

cessions from the Council, including retain ing historic Elms Parade. The

images show different expressions of community resistance, solidarity

and social engagement. https://www.codeack.co.uk

About Uwe Ackermann: Until my retirement in 2007, I spent my pro-

fessional life as a physiologist at the Universities of Toronto and Oxford.

In the early 1980s, during a visit to New Orleans, I was lured towards

photography by the varied and inventive use of iron in that city. From

that time onwards I have used the camera partly as a recording device

and partly as a collector of source material for the possibilities offered

by digital manipulation. My aims are always to tell a story and to elicit

from the viewer a reaction, a smile of recognition, a desire to know what

might lie outside the frame. https://uwe-ackermann.crevado.com and

https://instagram.com/uweack

It’s International Poetry Day on 21 March, so we thought we’d celebrate

with this poem by Leah Detheridge, a youthful poet from North Hinksey

Our Own Way

We are all unique,

In our own way.

Some people are chatty,

While some have little to say.

Some of us are tall,

Some of us are squat

Some of us don't like reading,

But some of us like it a lot.

Some of us are bold,

While others are more shy,

Some like to tell the truth,

While others prefer to lie.

Some of us like Winter,

While some like Autumn more,

But some people like hot weather,

And that's what Summer's for.

Some of us like food sweet,

While some of us like it hot,

Some of us like sport,

While others just do not.

All of us are different,

Though we may seem the same,

We are all our own person,

With our own brain.

And I guess what I've been trying to say,

Is that we're all unique in our own way.

Visit to Westmill Solar Farm – Two Views

Sterile wildlife desert…

Following the proposal/suggestion for a

Solar Farm on the field adjacent to the

Beacon at the rear of Mathew Arnold

School, North Hinksey Parish Council

organised a visit to the community run

Solar Farm (Westmill) at Watchfield on

the border with Wiltsh ire .

With this in mind I joined the group.

Members of the Community Trust there made us very welcome, giving

us a lot of information regarding their scheme (which is close to an older

wind farm, also owned by the community). This was followed by a well

received lunch, during which we were able to raise some questions with

members of the Trust.

This installation is on what is known as a ‘Brownfield’ site, in that it used

to be an airfield, and is set discreetly behind existing hedgerows. A two-

metre-high steel fence bordered the solar farm, with CCTV cameras set

along the perimeter. It was interesting to see the panels close up. They

are approximately three metres in height, set on concrete pads. It was

not a sunny day so one was not able to judge the reflection from the

panels. The cables from the panels feed into machines (invertors at the

end of each run of panels, resembling small shipping containers). These

inverters convert the DC electricity to AC in order that it might be

transferred to the grid. There were also similarly placed transformers to

step up the electricity for travel down the cable, as well as some other

containers or small buildings on the site, which carried out various

function s .

What struck me more than anything else was that the whole site

appeared totally devoid of wildlife kept out by the steel and badger proof

fences, there was not even a skylark. The site seemed to be a sterile

wildlife desert. It was also apparent that the equipment was noisy,

producing a background hum which would upset the tranquil peace of

anywhere not set on a site such as this, remote from public footpaths

and bridleways and people’s homes.

We have to carefully consider that the search for renewable electricity

sites should be chosen so as not to denigrate the natural world and

recreational pleasures of the visual landscape that we are endeavouring

to preserve. David Wyatt

Still there and still singing

I first visited Westmill Farm in 2018 to answer a question posed by a

student. We had been discussing alternative energy and he said that

wind turbines were noisy. So I felt obliged to go and listen for myself.

I reported back that the sound of the traffic on the nearby road was

so loud that I could not hear the turbines at all. But as I walked

further on to the site, the dominant sound was one of skylarks. Lots

and lots of skylarks, hanging in the sky singing their little hearts out.

Westmill Community Solar was installed beside the turbines in 2011

– the first community owned solar farm in the country. The fields

here grow crops, but are managed to maximize wildlife. The ab-

sence of pesticides means that the insects the skylarks need are

plentiful. The birds breed and nest quite happily, and are not both-

ered by the creaking of wind turbines or the proximity of solar pan-

els. Modern farms no longer feature the pretty thatched cottages and

flower filled meadows that we like to imagine. Intensive agricultural

practices have hugely reduced birds and wild flowers. Skylark

numbers have declined so dramatically in recent years, that it was a

real delight to see them here. The wild flowers, free to spread

themselves about, were attracting the butterflies, hoverflies and

bees which have been pushed to the edge of extinction elsewhere.

And then, bouncing about amongst the solar panels, I spotted a

number of hares, unperturbed by the technology, happy to hang out

and raise their babies in a spot where they are less visible to preda-

tory birds hanging in the wind.

The January visit with the Parish Council was on a much colder,

wilder day. Most people came by car and so missed the multiple

skylarks that greeted visitors like me walking through the front gate.

Still there and still singing. This time, there were no hares amongst

the solar panels. They were probably hunkered down against the

wind somewhere. But there were sheep: a small flock of rough coat-

ed ewes with pretty faces, kept, not for food, but to keep the grass

down – woolly, low-tech lawn mowers. Their dung is not adulterated

with chemicals I was told, so insects can use it. It im p roves the soil,

and provides a source of food all at the same time.

So, when (if) we have our own solar farm in Botley, will it be as wild

life friendly as the Westmill Farm? I hope so. It will certainly be

helping, just a little bit, to stave off the wildlife extinction that Climate

Chaos is definitely going to bring. Don’t burn gas. Raise hares

instea d . There’s a slogan for you! Linda Losito

Christmas Hampers and Botley Bridges

Thank you to all who

helped make this year’s

Christmas Hampers such

a great success! This was

a joint project, organised

by Botley Bridges Family

Support, Community

Larder, Food for Charities,

and lo ts of wonderful local

volunteers. St Peter and

St Paul’s Church kindly

lent the hall for tw o days

for packing. Local people

could register themselves

for a hamper but we also took requests from social services and health

visitors to make sure we reached the families most in need.

Many local folk gave up their time, donated goods, money and presents

and gave some Christmas cheer to 123 families. We have had some

lovely feedback about the difference it made to families and individuals.

Most of the hampers went to local

families but we also donated

some to families living in very

difficult circumstances, including

recent arrivals from Afghanistan.

Botley Bridges is your local Family

Support Charity. We ru n drop-in

sessions for families including

Stay & Play and Baby Groups as

well as online sessions too.

We also run courses such as

paediatric first aid, baby massage,

speech and language and family

nurturing. We are open to all, and

our aim is to improve the lives of

families and children by

supporting parents with

information about child

development and children’s

physical and mental health.

Our sessions are open access, and we only ask for a small

contribution. Our coordinator, Hayley Hayle, leads the majority of the

sessions and we were delighted that she was recognised in the Queen’s

New Years Honours list and awarded a BEM for services to postnatal

work in Oxfordshire.

We are in the process of planning an exciting new venture, which is to

work in conjunction with a local care home to bring residents and young

children with their parents together once a week.

As a charity we rely on grants and donations as well as parental

contributions from the sessions, and are currently looking to raise

£10,000 to cover our costs over the coming year. We are constantly

looking for funding, so if you are interested in donating or have a link to

an organisation which could support a local charity, please get in touch.

Our website is www.botleybridges.org and you can find information

about the charity and previous year’s annual reports th ere . Yo u ca n

donate on the website or send cheques (made payable to ‘Botley

Bridges’) to our registered address – Critchley’s, Beaver House, 23-38

Hythe Bridge Street, OX12EP. I am the Chair of Trustees and you can

contact them through me at sue@botleybridges.org Thanks again for

all your support. Sue Dowe

Public Art for Botley: murals, mosaics and more

Fusion Arts is managing an exciting local public art initiative - the

creation of bespoke artworks in and around the Botley West Way

development. Artist Nor Greenhalgh, stone carver Alex Wenham

and mosaic artist Clare Goodall will produce three separate yet

interconnected pieces.

Public consultation has been taking part over the past six months

and everyone can join the community consultation and activity

day on Saturday 19th March at Seacourt Hall 2pm to 5pm.

During this session you will be able to meet the artists, ask them

questions and even try your hand at some mosaic art!

If you have any feedback about this project so far, please email

info@fusion-arts.org using the subject line “West Way art

feedback”.

Subject to approval from National Highways, Nor Greenhalgh plans to

brighten and characterise the pedestrian area beneath the A34 flyover

with an exciting new mural. Here she outlines her artistic process so far:

“The Botley flyover allows safe passage by foot under the ring road,

maintaining an ancient walking route out of Botley. However, it's

designed for the motorists-eye view rather than that of the people

walking through, especially on the south side where it presents an

uninviting concrete tunnel to people on foot.

However, it has great visual potential. The unusually shaped spaces

draw the eye upwards and could be exploited for visual effect, providing

an ideal canvas for visual motifs which draw walkers through the space.

It could be a space to celebrate those travelling on foot as locals and

pilgrims have done for centuries.

Bob Cowley & Linda Losito kindly introduced us to some of the valuable

ecological habitats in the area - including the escarpment of the flyover

itself. We spent an afternoon with the Botley Seniors lunch club to hear

what the area around West Way means to people there, and their views

and hopes for the new development. Local councillors gave their time to

talk us through the history of Botley, and introduce us to volunteers at

the local food bank. Caroline nee Howse introduced me to the history of

Elms Farm Dairy, and showed me beautiful milk bottles with the dairy

logos just unearthed from the mud here.

The Botley GAP action group gave their time to physically investigate

the space with me - walking through the flyover after dark to assess

how it could be improved. All described the flyover as a barrier cutting

off Botley from nearby amenities, and expressed a desire to brighten the

interior and make it feel more like a link between places than a gateway

through them.

This initial process of listening and seeking to understand the site fed

into initial inspirations for a public artwork. I was inspired by Botley as a

place where people come to make a home; alongside the paradoxical

role of the area as a busy transport interchange and place where people

are often passing through. This tension is embodied in the flyover itself,

which both protects and alienates pedestrians; which feels like a barrier

and yet facilitates movement; which is simultaneously "unhomely" and

yet provides a rich habitat for many species - not least roosting pigeons!

The paradoxical feeling of the flyover can be summed up as a clash of

scales, where little humans on foot are confronted with large-scale

structures and signage, designed to be viewed from a distance and at

speed. I have aimed to embrace its incongruent scale when drafting

large-scale designs, which are still aimed squarely at the human looking

up from their lowly position of the pavement, and highlighting how the

human-scale body relates to this much larger structure.

I was also struck by old poems mentioning Botley's walking routes, such

a contrast with Botley Road's modern reputation as a busy transport

corridor! Lines such as Matthew Arnold's "over flooded fields foot

travellers go" were romantically nostalgic even when written in Victorian

times, but highlight the historical continuity of this route for people on

foot.

Alongside mural designs, I have collaborated with mosaic artist Clare

Goodall to produce relief ceramic tiles, to link her mosaic works with

motifs in the mural. Further public engagement will generate more

finished motifs by playing with scale, for example using very powerful

botanical magnifying glasses to home in on detail, then enlarging this to

the greatest size which it is possible to draw by hand – celebrating the

'clash of scales' already found in the flyover.

Nor Greenhalgh

Not Looking for Bear Grylls

The 15th Oxford is on the lookout for people to

help support the group, in a wide variety of roles.

If you’re able to spare some time in any capacity

and want to support a long running local

community group, then please get in touch!

Each section is led by adult volunteers, who plan

and manage all youth events in the group – from

Friday evening meetings to camps, hikes and

days out. Would you be able to arrange a day

trip to see a new city, organise a short hike along

the Ridgeway, or visit the group on a Friday

evening to run an activity, or show off your

hobbies or career to the Cubs/Scouts? Let us know!

You don’t have to be Bear Grylls or constantly spending your time hiking

and camping in order to help us out. All we ask is a bit of your free time!

Previous Leaders at the 15th Oxford have come from a wide range of

careers and backgrounds – Chefs, Ambulance Drivers, Registrars,

Engineers, Administrators, Curators, Pyrotechnicians and more! The

most important thing is that you enjoy your time with us, that you have

the full support and encouragement from the team, and that you’re

willing to help us out.

If you’re thinking of a more regular supporting role, then the Scout

Association can provide full supporting training programmes from

Occasional Helper to Section Leader. Not sure you can commit to

helping every week? Maybe you could help recording badgework and

progress awards! Only able to help in your own time? Maybe you could

help manage the subscriptions! Only able to help out on occasional

weekends? Help us to organise and run camps and nights away!

Every adult looking to be an appointed member of the group with a

regular supporting role will require a safeguarding check, and training

may be provided where necessary (all for free!). This can be arranged

flexibly to suit your available free time and other commitments – it’s

there to support you, not to assess you!

Please do feel free to send us a message with any questions. Or if

you’d like to have a chat, then please either send us an email at

XVOxfordScouts@yahoo.co.uk

or give the Group Scout Leader (Olly

Faulkner) a call on 07736 054 013. We’d love to hear from you!

Tom Fr eem an

Could you be a Governor at Botley School?

At Botley we have been consulting on our Vision and Values, and we

are looking forward to re-launching these in March. It was very clear

from our consultation that everyone wanted to do all we could to work

with, and be part of, our local community.

This is why the Governing Body are reaching out to the community – we

want to create a Governing Body which more accurately reflects

Botley’s varied population. Botley is a very diverse school, by all

measures, and we believe the Governing Body would benefit greatly

from reflecting this. Therefore, we are especially inviting applications

from members of our community who understand the diversity of

ethnicity, religion, and languages that are found here.

What does being a governor at Botley School entail?

The Governing Body is made up of Staff, Parent and Community

Governors. This last category is open to anyone who has the skills and

passion to make a difference to the governance of our school. We

currently have four Community Governors and five vacancies; we are

inviting applications from across the community to fill thes e .

Governors are expected to attend around ten meetings a year, where

members of the leadership team will present reports, data, and plans for

the future, for you to scrutinise. Your

job will be to monitor the work

already being done in school, and

help with our strategic planning.

The other main responsibility is what

we call ‘Link’ meetings. Here, each

Governor takes on an area of

special interest, and works with the

staff member responsible to

understand what is involved. This is

a very rewarding part of the role.

Governors forge close relationships

with staff members and develop

expertise in a particular field.

We would also like to broaden the

skills and expertise of the Governing

Body, and so we are inviting

applications from people with

experience in finance and

accounting, or estates management

this is not a requirement for the role, but it would be a welcome addition.

Governors who join the Governing Body will be given training, and

usually serve for an initial term of four years. Being part of Botley’s

Governing Body is a rewarding experience, both in terms of

volunteering to give something back to our community, and in the skills

we have developed in our professional lives as a result. There are

opportunities to take on leadership positions with the Governing Board,

or to make the most of being part of the team.

Overall, the role of Governors is to support the school’s leadership team

in delivering high quality education to our community. We work closely

with the head teacher and the Acer Trust, to further improve education

and wellbeing at Botley School.

Applicants will be interviewed as part of the process, but enquiries from

anyone who thinks they might be eligible are welcome. If you or anyone

you know wishes to hear more about how to apply, please do ask them

to get in touch at the following email address: office@botley.oxon.sch.uk

Ben Potter (Chair of Governors)

Randoms

Time to get walking again!

At this time of year we start to think about getting out into the beautiful

English Countryside again, but where to find the walks? Walking in

Oxfordshire (https://www.walkinginengland.co.uk/oxfordshire) has hun-

dreds of walks to download and print, free. It also has books of walks,

details of all the walking groups in the county and much more. With

walks from half a mile to twelve miles and more, and a note giving suit-

ability for pushchairs and wheelchairs, everyone can find a walk to

enjoy. So home or away, check out the website and get walking!

John Harris

Botley WI

Our Annual Meeting is on Tuesday 1st March, when new officers will be

elected. Our speakers, from Nordic Model Now!, will talk about the

harms of prostitution. Visitors welcome. Our Faberdashery Sale on Sat-

urday 26th March, 10-3pm, will have lots of items saved when Denman

closed. For more information ring Alison on 07598 251161 or to book

the hall call Val on 01865 245273. Alison Jenner

New Church in Botley

A new Church (Christ Church Botley, part of the Anglican Network in

Europe) has begun to meet in the area. Services start at 10am on Sun-

days, but not always at the same venue, so please contact Reverend

Ken Campbell for details, phone 07849 292489 and email: revke nox-

ford@ou tloo k .co m See the website for more detailed information:

www.christchurchbotley.org

Help with Scams

Age UK Oxfordshire has launched a new scams prevention and support

programme for older people, funded by Lloyds Bank. It offers group

talks to raise awareness, and face-

to-face sessions for those who

have been caugh t. Designed to

help older people to recognize and

deal with attempted scams, the

programme will also provide

support to fraud victims recovering

after an incident. Being scammed

can have an impact beyond losing

money – it can erode confidence

and damage quality of life. To f i nd out more about Age UK Oxfordshire’s

Scams Prevention and Support Programme, phone them on 0345 450

1276. There is also detailed information online on the Age Uk Website:

https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/money-legal/scam s -fraud/

Tree planting on Sunday 6th March

Oatlands Road Rec, 10am to 3pm, organized by Low Carbon West

Oxford. They have 500 trees to plant. They will provide the kit, and

hopefully hot drinks, but ask you to bring cake to share if you can. All

welcome. Let Karen know you’re coming on events@lcwo.org.uk

Cumnor Choral Concert

Fauré’s Requiem and Mendelssohn’s Hear My Prayer, Conducted by

Peter Foster. St P&P Church, Sat 26th March, 7.30pm. Tickets from

Caroline Cockman (carolinecockman@gmail.com, tel 07961 900670).

Breast-feeding in Botley

Bayley, in Pappo’s new restaurant, has said that breast-feeding mothers

can go there and feed their babies in the staff area. I found a young

woman feeding her baby on a cold bench outside the Co-op in what is

effectively a wind tunnel. She must have been so cold…

Jenny Holloway

Organizations: If your organization is not listed here, please send details

to editor@thesprout.org.uk or telephone 724452 for inclusion.

1st Botley Brownies

Girls aged 7–10

Dean Court Community Centre Thur 6–7.30 Jean

Metson, firstbotleybrownies@g m a il.com

2nd Botley Brownies

Girls aged 7–10

Rosary Room, Yarnells Hill. Tues 6:15-7:45 Alison

Griffin 2ndbotleybrownies@outlook.com

4th Oxford Scout Group

Beavers, Cub Scouts, Scouts

mail@thefourth.org.uk Website:

http://www.thefourth.org.uk/

15th Oxford Scout Group

Boys and girls welcome

Fridays, Cubs 6.30-8, Scouts 8-9.30, 1 Church Way, Botley

Amy Cusden (Cubs) 07887 654386, Tom Freeman (Scouts)

07837 623768 xvoxfordscouts@yahoo.co.uk

Baby & Toddler Group

Tues/Thurs 9.15–11, SS Peter & Paul Church Hall

BikeSafe. B4044 community

path campaign

Wants to connect Botley to Eynsham. Meets every 6-8

weeks. Contact via website B4044path.org

Books on Wheels R.V.S.

Free Library Service for housebound Ox. 248142

Botley Boys & Girls F.C.

Football teams from ages 8-16

Brendan Byrne 792531 brendan.byrne999@gmail.com

Botley Community Larder

Thursdays, 3.30 to 5.30 at St P&P Church Hall, West

Way, Facebook or email botleylarder@gmail.com

Botley and Kennington

Patients Participation Group

Second Tuesday in the Month, early evening. Contact

csugden@ocrpl.org

Botley Library

07922 849680. Open till 7 on Friday and 1pm on Sat,

otherwise 9.30 to 5.30 (closed Wednesdays).

Botley Seniors Lunch Club

Alternate Thursdays. Seacourt Hall. Jackie Warner

Ox.721386

Cumnor Choral Society

Rehearsals Friday 7.45 to 9.45 pm John May 07795 054142

or www.cumnorchoralsociety.wordpress.com

Cumnor Chess Club

Thurs 7–9pm Cumnor Old School. Steven Bennett

01993 684494 www.cumnorchessclub.co.uk

Cumnor & District

Historical Society

Last Monday of the month 7.30-9.00 Cumnor Old

School. 01865 724808

Cumnor Gardening Club

http://cumnorgardens.org.uk/ or phone 01865

721026

Harmony InSpires, Ladies'

Acappella Singing Group

Wed 7.30 at Appleton Village Hall. C. Casson 01235

831352 or harmonyinspires@hotmail.co.uk

Hill End Volunteer Team

Contact: David Millin on david.millin@hill-end.org,

call 863510 or visit www.hillend-oec.co.uk

Lawn Tennis Club, N Hinksey

Family club Email: Tennis@OxfordSportsLTC.org

West Oxford Singing Circle

Weds 2-3pm, WOCC, Emily 07969 522368 or see

www.emilyschoirs.co.uk

Morris Dancing – Cry Havoc

Barbara Brett 249599 or bag@cryhavoc.org.uk

North Hinksey Preschool

and Childcare clubs

Mon–Fri 7.45am–6.00 pm. Tel 794287 or email

nhps.manager1@gmail.com

N Hinksey Art Group

Weds 10–12.00 W.I. Hall Christina 07931 707997

N Hinksey Bellringers

Contact: Ray Rook 01865 241451

N Hinksey Conservation

Volunteers

Meets at weekends Contact Voirrey Carr

07798743121 voirreyc@aol.com

N Hinksey, Friends of

Annual Cricket Match/ Walk. Douglas Bond 791213.

N Hinksey Parish Council

clerk@northhinksey-pc.gov.uk

N Hinksey Youth Club

Weds at LM pavilion, Daz: 07791 212866 or F’book

Oxford Flood Alliance

R Thurston 01865 723663 or 07973 292035

Oxford Flower Arranging Club

4th Thursday Cumnor. Dympna Walker: Ox 865259

Oxford Harmony

Wednesdays 7.30 – 9.30 pm at Seacourt Hall, Con-

tact pro@oxfordharmony.co.uk

Oxford Otters

Swimming for people with disabilities. Sundays,

twice monthly. Contact: Alan Cusden 723420

Oxford Rugby Club

Boys and girls from 5, kevin.honner@ntlworld.com

Seniors, training etc jbrodley@chandlings.org.uk.

Raleigh Park, Friends of

raleighpark@raleighp ark.o rg.uk

Seacourt Hall Management

Committee

Contact Lottie White, 07452 960100, or see

https://www.seacourthall.org.uk

Shotokan Karate Club

6+ WOCC twice weekly Martyn King 07836 646450

Stagecoach Botley

Seacourt Hall, Saturdays 9:00am–3pm Performing

Arts for 4-16 yr-olds Oxf 590510 or 01235 390810

Walking for Health

2nd & 4th Saturdays 9.50 Louie Memorial Field car

park, Arnolds Way. Alan 07941 610913

West Oxford Bowls Club

Contact details on

www.westoxfordbowlsclub.co.uk

West Oxford Taekwon Do

Club

Mon, Thurs 6.30-8pm, MA gym, contact Chris Hall

01865 570291 www.wotkd.co.uk

West Oxford U3A

(Uni of the 3rd Age) http://westoxfordu3a.org.uk/

West Way Day Centre

Mon & Fri 10–3pm, Field House, 07740 611971.

oxfordshirehub@royalvoluntaryservice.org.uk

Women’s Institute (Botley)

Alison Jenner 07598 251161

alisonjenner@yahoo.com

Weight Watchers

Thursdays 6pm at SS Peter & Paul Church Hall

Banso tel: 07779 253899 bansob@aol.com

Baptist Hall

1 Church Way

Contact: Diane Melchert 01865 243664

botleybaptistchurch@gmail.com

The Rosary Room

Yarnells Hill, Elms Rise

Contact Maria Brown,

Te l : 0 1 8 6 5 2 4 7 9 8 6 .

SS Peter & Paul Church

Hall, West Way, Botley

Contact: 01865 242057 or

osneybenefice@outlook.com.

Women's Institute Hall,

North Hinksey Lane

Contact: Val Warner

Te l . 0 1 8 6 5 2 4 5 2 7 3

Seacourt Hall,

3 Church Way

Contact: Lottie White on 07452 960100,

or email admin@seacourthall.org.uk

Pavilion, Arnold’s Way,

Elms Rise, Botley

Contact: Darren Blase 241254

louiememorialpav ilio n@gm ail.c o m

Oxford Rugby Club,

North Hinksey Village

Contact:. Mary Bagnall

mary.bagnall1@btinternet.com.

North Hinksey & Botley Churches

Times of Services (once resumed) and Contacts

St. Lawrence, Church of England, North Hinksey Lane

1st, 2nd, 4th Sunday, Sung Eucharist 11.30 a.m.

3 rd Sunday, Matins 11.3 0 a m

St. Peter and St. Paul, Church of England, West Way

2nd Saturday each Month, 4–6pm Messy Church for children and their carers

1st Sunday of the Month, 9.30am All Age service of Holy Communion

All other Sundays, 9.30am Holy Communion with activities for children

Every Wednesday, 10.30am Holy Communion at Field House

Rev Clare Sykes, Tel. 01865 242345 or revclare@btinternet.com

Our Lady of the Rosary Church, Roman Catholic, Yar n ells Hill

Saturday 6.30 pm. Mass

Sunday 9.15 am Mass

Fr Daniel Lloyd. 07584 323915 dlloyd@portsmouthdiocese.org.uk.

Botley Baptist Church, 1 Church Way

Sunday Service 11 am.

Wednesday Zoom Bible Study 7.30 p.m.

Choir practice Thursday 2p.m.

Diane Melchert, 07742 662668. www.botleybaptistchurch.org

Calvary Chapel

Sunday services held at Botley School 10.30–12 noon

Pastor Philip Vickery 01865 864498

calvarychapeloxford@yahoo.co.uk;

www.calvarychapelox fo rd .o r g .u k

What’s On

March 2022

Sun 6th 10am–3pm , Oatlands Road Rec. Tree planting,

organized by WOCA. Kit provided. All welcome.

Thur 10th 12 for 12.30, Seacourt Hall Botley Snrs Lunch Club

Sat 12th 2–5pm, Seacourt Hall, STAY WARM – SAVE ENERGY

Mon 14th 2.30, Dean Court Community Centre, U3A talk: Jane

Stubbs on “Corsets, Crinolines and Mangles’

Thurs 17th 7.30, Seacourt Hall and Zoom, ANNUAL PARISH

MEETING

Sat 19th 2–5pm Seacourt Hall, Open Day, West Way Public Art

Thur 24th 12 for 12.30, Seacourt Hall Botley Snrs Lunch Club

Thur 24th 7.30, Seacourt Hall, Parish Council meeting

Sat 26th 10–3pm, Botley W.I. Hall, Faberdashery Sale

Sat 26th Ss P&P Church, 7.30, Cumnor Choral Spring Concert

Mon 28th 2.30, Dean Court Community Centre, U3A talk: Jane

Humphreys on "History from underneath: women's

and girls' experience in the era of industrialization"

Sat 19th and Sat 25th, two weekends of litter picking with

Oxclean

March 7th to April 29th, Thanks for All the Fish, photographic

exhibition at Ss Peter and Paul Church.

March to 16

April Local history exhibition at West Oxford

Community Centre, featuring lots of old photographs of

the parishes of St Thomas and St Ebbes